This invention relates to rain gutter protection devices, and in particular to a device for completely covering a rain gutter to prevent debris, vermin and other material from entering the gutter, while freely allowing water to enter. The invention relates particularly to a rain gutter protection device having a roof-matching coating of an upper surface of the device.
As explained in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,916, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, homes and other buildings, when having a pitched roof, typically are built with a rain gutter used to collect rain water from the roof and direct that water away from the building structure. Gutters usually lead to downspouts from which water is then channeled away from the structure as desired. Many different types of gutter protection devices have been developed over the years.
In the past, gutter protecting devices have been formed of metal, plastic or other similar materials, and may or may not be of a color which matches the existing roof or gutter or adjacent building structure. Whatever the material of the gutter cover, a common feature of prior gutter covers is that they present smooth upper surfaces over which water sheets when flowing into a gutter.